Adsorption air conditioning system



Oct. 25, 1938. c. M. ASHLEY ADSORPTION AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM FiledApri; 22, 1937 @@@QQQQ Patented Oct. 25, 1938 TED sTATEs ADSORPTION AIRCONDITIONENG SYSTEM Carlyle M. Ashley, Summit, N. J.; assigner toCarrier Corporation, Newark, N. .La corporation of Delaware ApplicationApril 22, 1937, Serial No. 138,341

8 Claims This invention relates to air conditioning, and moreparticularly air conditioning systems of the adsorption type.

The general object of the invention is to provide an improved method ofand apparatus for conditioning air in which the moisture content of theconditioned air is reduced by adsorption.

It isv well known that dehydrating agents or adsorbers, after they havetaken up a certain amount of moisture, must be regenerated in order thatthey may become once again useful for the purpose of removing moisturefrom air or other gas contacting therewith. -Regenera tion of adsorbersis accomplished by subjecting them to heat so that the adsorbed moistureis driven off. Obviously, during the period of regeneration adsorbersmust be relieved from immediate air conditioning service. Thus, in priorpractice, it has often been necessary periodically to interrupt theconditioning of air in order that adsorbers used to condition the airmight be regenerated. Where continuous conditioning has been required,it has been necessary to provide two or more dehydrating chambersthrough which the air to be conditioned is routed at diiferent times. v

An object of the invention is to provide an improved air conditioningsystem utilizing a dry or solid adsorber in which the dehydration of airmay be carried on continuously in a single condi# tioning chamber.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved airconditioning system in which a continuous belt formed of and/or carryinga hygros'copic material is passed through an air conditioning chamberand then through a regenerating chamber, in which it is prepared for arepetition of the adsorption cycle.

It is another object of the invention to provide a continuous system fordehydrating air in which the air is cleaned aswell as dehydrated by anadsorber.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved method ofand apparatus for conditioning air in which air to be conditioned iscontacted with an adsorber, whereby the adsorber takes up both moistureand dirt from the air, and in which other air is utilized to effect boththe regeneration and the cleaning of the adsorber.

It is another object of the invention to provide an air conditioningsystem which is continuous, highly eflicient and reliable in operation,and which is adapted to condition air relatively inexpensively.

(Cl. 18S-d) A feature of the invention resides in contacting air to beconditioned with a continuous belt made of and/or carrying hygroscopicmaterial, removing the belt from contact with the air to be conditionedand preparing it for a repetition of its dehydrating function. y

Another feature of the invention resides in circulating air to. beconditioned in contact with a moving belt made of and/or carryinghygroscopic material, whereby moisture and dirt are removed from the airto be conditioned, removing such moisture and dirt from the belt at apoint outside the chamber in which the air to be conditioned iscontacted with the belt, and returning the belt for a repetition of itsdehydrating and cleaning function.

Another feature of the invention resides in passing air in contact witha continuous belt made of and/or carrying hygroscopic material, passingthe belt from the chamber in which it contacts with the air to beconditioned to a regenerating chamber and then baci; to the airconditioning chamber, and regenerating the belt by circulating throughand in contact therewith in the regenerating chamber a heated gas, suchas air.v

Another feature of the invention resides in passing air in contact witha continuous belt made of and/or carrying hygroscopic, material, passingthe belt from the chamber in which it contacts with the air to beconditioned to a regenerating chamber and then back to the airconditioning chamber, regenerating the belt by circulating through andin' contact therewith in the regenerating chamber a heated gas, such asair, the regenerating gas being withdrawn from the regenerating chamberthrough a relatively narrow slot positioned proximate the surface of thebelt, whereby the gas withdrawn from the regenerating chamber passestherefrom at relatively high velocity, entraining and carrying off dirtparticles from the belt.

Another feature of the invention resides in passing air in contact witha continuous belt made of and/or carrying a hygroscopic material,passing the belt from the chamber in which it contacts with the air tobe conditioned to a regenerating chamber and then back to the airconditioning chamber, the belt passing to the regenerating chamber andthe belt passing therefrom being in heat exchange relation but beingseparated from each other by a partition adapted to prevent moistureinterchange therebetween.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be moreapparent from the following description, to be read in connection withthe accompanying drawing, which diagrammatically represents an airconditioning system in accordance with the invention.

Referring to the drawing the numeral 5 designates an air conditioningchamber through which air to be conditioned is circulated by a fan 6 inthe direction indicated by arrows 'I. `Within chamber 5 the aircirculated by fan 6 contacts With continuous belt 8, whichis suitablycarried within the conditioning chamber by means such as rollers 9. Oneor more of the rollers 9 will be rotated by any suitable driving meansto cause travel of the belt 8, preferably in the direction indicated bythe arrows 9a, while the remainder of rollers 9 may idle while properlysupporting and guiding the belt 8. The belt 8 preferably extends acrossthe entire cross -sectional area of chamber 5 so that substantially allof the air passing through the conditioning chamber contacts with and/orpasses through the belt.

[Belt 8 may be formed of an adsorber, such as cotton, or other fibrousmaterial, or it may be formed of material which is non-hygroscopic. Whenthe belt is formed of hygroscopic material it-is preferably arranged toserve as a carrier for other hygroscopic material, such as calciumchloride, lithium chloride, silica gel or the like, with which it ispreferably impregnated or coated. When the belt t is formed ofnon-hygroscopic material, it is coated with or otherwise carries such amaterial as eects the adsorption of moisture from the air. While thebelt il is preferably sumciently sieve-like so that air may passtherethrough without encountering excessive resistance, the mesh oropenings in the belt formation are preferably suciently fine to entrapdirt particles and the like from the air to be conditioned, so that thebelt serves not only to dehydrate the air but to clean it as well. It isadvantageous to construct the belt of fibrous textile material, not onlybecause it is itself hygroscopic, but also because such materialprovides eective cleaning action while not oering excessive resistanceto air flow therethrough.

After the belt 8 has been passed through the chamber il, it is withdrawntherefrom through a duct Ill and supplied to regenerating chamber il ofany desired shape or design, through which it is carried on suitablerollers I2. As explained in connection with rollers 9, one or more ofthe rollers I2 may be driven to effect desired motion of the belt whilethe remainder of the rollers I2 may idle. Air or other gas is suppliedto the chamber II through connection I3. Preferably, the air so suppliedis preheated as by heating coils 2l), but such preheating is notessential to the intended operation, since within the chamber II andpreferably positioned close to the belt 8 are heating coils I4. Coils I4 serve to heat not only the belt B but also the air intaken within thechamber II from connection I3. Thus the moisture removed from the air inconditioning chamber 5 is driven off from the belt and/or thehygroscopic material it carries, in preparation for a repetition of thecycle. If desired, of course, coils I4 may be eliminated, the air insuch case being sumciently preheated to effect the desired regeneration.

Preferably, bailles I5 are provided Within chamber I I to route theintroduced air through the belt 8 and between the coils Il in aserpentine course, thus assuring intimate and highly effective contactbetween the reactivating air and the belt. Preferably, as illustrated,the air is circulated through the chamber II in a direction counter toI6, which is connected to a fan 2|, preferably of the high pressuretype. Outlet connection I is so formed that its inlet end I1 isa'comparatively small orifice or slotted opening extending substantiallycompletely across the full width of belt 8, and this orifice is locatedrelatively close to the surface of the belt entering the regeneratingchamber II. This arrangement insures the withdrawal of air and watervapor from the regenerating chamber at relatively high velocity, andthis in turn causes the entrainment and carrying oil of dirt particlesfrom' the belt entering the regenerating chamber. Thus, it will be notedthat the air or other gas which is used for regenerating the belt alsoserves to'clean the vsame in a continuous process.

Since the adsorption oi moisture from air causes a substantial increasein its dry bulb temperature, due to the release of the heat ofvaporization, cooling coils I8 are provided in the conditioning chambert to reduce the dry bulb temperature of the dehydrated air. Asillustrated, the cooling coils lil are positioned within the pathdescribed by the belt t; thus the air is cooled between the twodehydrating stages provided by its passage twice through the belt. Thisintercooling tends to make the second dehydrating step more eiiectlvethan if no provision were made for intercooling but, if desired, thecoils lil may be positioned beyond the belt 8. Further to reduce the drybulb temperature of the dehydrated air, cooling coils ita are preferablyprovided within the casing and beyond the belt t.

The belt passing from the conditioning chambei' 5 to theregenerating-chamber I i is relatively warm due to the liberation of theheat of vaporization from the conditioned air as above described.However, the belt passing from the regenerating chamber Ii toconditioner chamber t is considerably hotter than the belt passingthrough duct iii in a reverse direction, due to the high temperature ofthe reactivating air. It is desirable that the temperature withinregenerating chamber ii be maintained at a high value to facilitateregeneration of the adsorber, whereas it is desirable that thetemperature within the conditioning chamber 5 be maintained as low aspossible to reduce the cooling load on coils I8 and to provide moreeillcient adsorption. According ly, applicant provides for heat exchangebetween the belt leaving the regenerating chamber and the belt passingthereto by passing these portions of the belt in close proximity to eachother within the relatively narrow duct I0. However, to prevent moistureinterchange between the belt portions, a partition I9, of metal or othermaterial impervious to moisture, is provided within the duct I0 toseparate the belt portions therein. As will be understood, the partitionI9 is preferably formed of material having a high heat conductivity tofacilitate heat interchange within the duct I il.

The duct I0 connecting the conditioning chamber and the regeneratingchamber is relatively at. 'I'he space between each side of the duct I0and the partition I9 is made as small as possible, consistently with theprovision of enough space for the passage of the belt 8 and someclearance on either side thereof, in order to prevent the circulation ofair between the conditioning chamber and the regenerating chamber.

Since many modifications may be made in the invention without departingfrom its scope, it is to be understood that the above description andaccompanying drawing are intended as illustrative only and not in alimiting sense, applicant limiting himself only as indicated in theappended claims.

I claim: Y

1. In an apparatus of the character described, a regenerating chamber,means for supplying to and passing through said chamber hygroscopicmaterial which is to be regenerated and relieved of dirt particles,means for passing through said chamber in contact with said material gashaving a relatively high temperature, and means for withdrawing said gasfrom said material at a velocity which is considerably higher than thevelocity at which said gas is passed in contact with said material,whereby to remove particles of foreign matter from said material.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a regenerating chamber,means for supplying to and passing through said chamber hygroscopicmaterial which is to be regenerated and relieved of dirt particles,means for passing through said chamber in contact with said material gashaving a relatively high temperature, and means for withdrawing fromsaid material at relatively high velocity gas which has contactedtherewith, said last mentioned means including a slot positionedrelatively close to the surface of said material, the cross-sectionalarea of said slot being considerably smaller than the smallest free areaprovided for the passage of said gas through said regenerating chamber Y3. In an apparatus of the character described, a regenerating chamber.means for supplying to and passing through the chamber hygroscopicmaterial to be regenerated, means for passing through said chamber incontact with said material and in a direction counter to that of saidmaterial gas having a relatively high temperature, and means forwithdrawing said gas from said chamber at a point proximate the point atwhich said material is supplied to said chamber at a velocity which isconsiderably higher than the velocity at which said gas is passed incontact with said material.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a regenerating chamber,means for supplying to and passing through the chamber hygroscopicmaterial to be regenerated, means for passing through said chamber incontact with said material and in a direction counter to that of saidmaterial gas having a relatively high temperature, and means forwithdrawing said gas from said chamber at a point proi'zimate the pointat which said material is supplied to said chamber and at a velocityconsiderably higher than the velocity at which said gas is in contact 5.In combination with an apparatus including a regenerating chamber, anair conditioning chamber, and an endless hygroscopic belt passing to andfrom each of said chambers; conduit means connecting said conditioningchamber and said regenerating chamber through which said 'belt passes toand from each chamber, and waterimpervious partition means within saidconduit means for separating belt portions passing through said conduitmeans in opposite directions.

6. In combination With an apparatus including a regenerating chamber, anair conditioning chamber, and an endless hygroscopic belt passing to andfrom each of said chambers; conduit means connecting said conditioningchamber and said regenerating chamber through which said belt passes toand from each chamber, and water-impervious partition means havingrelatively high heat conductivity for separating belt portions passingthrough said conduit means in opposite directions.

7. In combination with an apparatus including a regenerating chamber, anair conditioning chamber, and an endless hygroscopic belt passing to andfrom each of said chambers; relatively narrow conduit means connectingsaid conditioning chamber and said regenerating chamber through whichsaid belt passes to and from each chamber, and water-imperviouspartition means within said conduit means for separating belt portionspassing through said conduit means in opposite directionasaid conduitmeans being sufllciently narrow to prevent appreciable gas now betweensaid regenerating chamber and said conditioning chamber.

8. In combination with an apparatus including a regenerating chamber, anair conditioning chamber, and an endless hygroscopic belt passing to andfrom each of said chambers; conduit means connecting said conditioningchamber and said regenerating chamber through which said belt passes toand from each chamber, and a metal partition within said conduit meansfor separating and segregating belt portions passing through saidconduit means in opposite directions, whereby heat interchange ispermitted between belt portions moving in opposite directions throughsaid conduit means and whereby moisture interchange between said beltportions moving in opposite directions is prevented.

cAaLYLn mesurait.

